


We Found Love in a Hopeless Place

by Purple_ducky00



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Female Steve Rogers, Homophobia, Light makeout session, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Pride Parades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Tony never thought he'd spend the night in jail. He never thought he'd fall in love there, either.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 8
Kudos: 122
Collections: Marvel Undercover 2020





	We Found Love in a Hopeless Place

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the beta work [whenfandomscollide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenfandomscollide/pseuds/whenfandomscollide)!

Tony never thought he would spend a night in jail. He doesn’t feel safe. Wearing only his booty shorts held up by rainbow suspenders and a pair of bright pink Chuck Taylors, he knows he stands out from the rest of the arrested. He sees a few men check out his ass, and he huddles closer to the wall.

The truth is, it’s not his fault that he is standing in this cell. He had been at the Pride parade, and those two douchebags on the floor over there started trying to fight with people at the event. They were grabbing people from the crowd, pulling them aside, and spewing venomous phobic bullshit. When their victim would protest, they would force said person to the ground for a beating.

Tony doesn’t know why they chose him. Sure, he knows he’s not built like that beefcake who stepped in, but he’s strong. He works with heavy machinery every day. Tony could lift his 200lb ex-boyfriend during sex, but no one ever seems to think he’s strong.

He put up a good fight, but when it came to two of them against one of him, he didn’t really have a shot. Out of the blue, one of the assholes was hitting the brick wall behind Tony, and the other was caught in an arm lock by a man whose scruffiness _shouldn’t_ have been attractive yet somehow it still was. This man was wearing a hoodie and gloves on this 85°F (29°C) day! Tony was sweating with no shirt, and this guy was wearing a hoodie!

In a fit of rage, Tony started whaling on the captured man. By the time Tony’s savior spoke up, the asshole had a split lip and a broken nose. The sexy hobo said, with a deep Brooklyn drawl, “Hey, doll, not that I don’t support you hitting this douchebag, but there are cops coming. I’d hate to see you get arrested.” He spoke too late. The cops arrived. They arrested all four of them, taking them to the nearest station.

The cop who processed him takes one look at Tony’s outfit and muttered under his breath. “Excuse me?” Tony asked. The cop gave him a derisive look and led him to the holding cell. Two minutes later, the sexy hobo got pushed in the cell. Looking around, Tony saw that the two idiots who attacked him were also on the ground at the other end of the cell.

Now Tony is wondering how long they'll let him stew in here. “What about my phone call?” Tony calls, but the officers ignore him. He spends a few more moments, trying to get their attention but to no avail. He sighs. _I guess I’m sleeping here._

Feeling the eyes of several people on him, Tony scoots closer to the wall. He doesn’t want to start a ruckus, but he doesn’t want to be ogled.

“If yer didn’t want us to look at yer ass, whyja wear them pants?” An old man asks him.

“Forgive me, but I wasn’t _planning_ to get arrested today,” Tony retorts.

“You’re clearly gay,” another speaks up. “If some other dude can check you out and feel you up, why can’t any of us?”

“There’s a thing called consent, but I’m sure you never ask for that,” Tony quips.

The man growls, “You calling me a rapist?”

“Or a virgin. I don’t know who would choose to have sex with you. Or hey, I don’t know. Maybe you didn’t talk at all. Perhaps someone desperate would be ok with that.”

Sexy hobo laughs, and a few other men in the cell awkwardly chuckle as well, but the man gets angry. “You know what, you… you…” He proceeds to spew homophobic slurs, advancing towards Tony. Sexy hobo steps in front of Tony and raises an eyebrow.

“Come at me, buddy.”

Angry man considers his choices and takes a step back. Sexy hobo grins. “Good choice. Now, leave this man alone, or you’re gonna deal with me.” He voices the last sentence to the rest of the cell. Shoving people out of the way, he leads Tony to the back corner. “Sit here. They’ll leave ya alone. I’m James.”

“I’m Tony.” Tony smiles at him. “Thank you for all your help. I appreciate it. You surely didn’t have to get arrested with me.”

James takes a seat next to him. “It’s fucked up how they think they can do whatever they want because they think we’re wrong. Who the fuck thinks it’s a great idea to go to a Pride parade and try to sway people with their homophobic as fuck opinions? Then when they started hitting people…” James' fist clenches.

A familiar mechanical whine sets Tony’s senses on high alert. “Is that a Stark Prosthetic?”

“How did you know I had a prosthetic?” James asks, his eyes quickly finding Tony’s. Tony can see the anxiety on his face.

“I didn’t know… until I heard the plates move.” Tony tries to smile encouragingly. “I’d know that sound anywhere.” When James looks even more bemused, Tony realizes James doesn’t know who he is. “I made that arm. I’m Tony Stark.”

James' eyes open comically wide. “I’m… sorry. I don’t get out much,” he mumbles.

“Don’t be. It was actually refreshing.” Tony pats his shoulder.

The two sit in silence for a while, until Tony speaks up. “Did they give you a phone call?”

“Nah. This precinct is almost actively anti-LGBT, so they'll probably wait until tomorrow morning to give us our phone calls. It’s happened before.” James shrugs. “They have to let us out before 24 hours is up if they’re not going to charge us with anything, but they’ll milk it.”

“Well, we should do something about that,” Tony muses.

Hours drag on as people are moved in and out of the holding cell, yet still Tony does not have his phone call. The police confiscated his watch and glasses or else he would have made that call when he first arrived. He shivers. The air conditioning is settling into his bare skin and he is getting chilly.

James notices and he pulls his hoodie off, offering it to Tony. Tony accepts it with a smile. He snickers as the sweatshirt is longer than his shorts. Now he knows what the girls in those movies feel like when they wear their boyfriends’ shirts over their underwear. He doesn’t notice the heart-eyes James is making at him.

Night falls and Tony is exhausted. He rests his head back against the wall and tries to rest his eyes. Within a few moments, James whispers, “You can use my shoulder… or my lap if you want.”

James' thighs do look comfortable. Tony moves his body so that he is lying on the floor – yes he knows it’s disgusting – with his head on James' lap. Immediately, James' hand lands in his hair. The hand starts to scratch lightly and Tony moans. Head massages are the best.

An officer jumps up and runs over to the cell. “Stop! Get up!” he yells. “You can’t do that in here!” After he is satisfied that Tony has sat up, he walks back to his desk, muttering, “It’s not natural.”

Tony gets an idea. “I don’t know if this will work or not, but can I kiss you if it comes down to it?” he asks James.

“Darlin’, you can kiss me whenever you want.”

Touching James' cheek, Tony stands up and steps to the front of the cell. “Excuse me,” he calls. No one replies. “Excuse me. I’m guessing you have no idea who I am because if you did, you would have given me my phone call long ago. Also, if I don’t get my phone call _right now_ , I am going to have a full-on make out session with this beautiful man.” When the officers seem to ignore him, Tony shrugs. Turning to James, he winks. “Come here, gorgeous.”

He straddles James' lap. James brings his left hand up to cup Tony’s face. They sit for a few seconds, staring at each other, lost in the tension. Tony finally snaps and eagerly kisses James. Holy fucking sparks – the world seems to dim around him. He is vaguely aware of the other people in the cell cheering them on and the cops starting to take notice. James squeezes his ass and Tony is gone. He has never had such chemistry with anyone.

Hands pull Tony away from James and a cop screams at him, “You want your phone call? Go, take your phone call.” He nods at James. “You can when he’s finished. But no more of that.”

Tony looks at James, who winks at him. “Take me to the phone.” Tony lifts his nose in the air. “You _will_ be hearing from my lawyers.”

Naturally, Tony calls Pepper. She tells him she'll get the lawyers started immediately and that Nat will be down to get him ASAP. He sighs with relief. He makes a mental note to get James' number before they both leave. 

Twenty minutes later, Nat shows up. “I’m here to pick up Tony Stark.”

“Tony Stark's not here,” one of the cop scoffs.

Tony raises his hands. “She’s here for me. Let me out.”

Less than a minute after Tony is released, Nat's girlfriend, Stephanie, walks out of the elevator. “Oh hi, Steph!” Tony says brightly.

“Tony? What are you doing here?” She looks confused.

“Nat's picking me up?” Tony furrows his brow confusedly.

Stephanie looks over and sees Nat. “Oh hi! I’m here to pick up Bucky.”

_“Bucky's_ here?” Tony screeches. Stephanie and Nat have been trying to set them up for a while, but it never worked out.

Stephanie tells the officer in a clipped voice, “I’m here to pick up James Barnes.” A lightbulb turns on in Tony’s head. Sure enough, the officer lets out – Mr. Sexy Hobo, or James.

James walks out, takes one look at Nat, and asks, “Nat? You come with Steph?”

“No, I came to get Tony.” She smirks. “You know, _the_ Tony?”

“The Tony you’ve been trying to get me with is _Tony Stark_?” James whirls on Stephanie, who rolls her eyes.

Natasha ushers them out of the police station, as several officers are getting antsy. James mutters an expletive but walks out behind her. Once outside, he says, “That fuckin’ precinct is the most homophobic in the city.”

“We know, Bucky.” Steph rolls her eyes again. “I’ve had to pick you up from there too many times, you jerk.”

James nudges her with his shoulder. “Punk.” He then turns to Tony. “I’m sorry, we have not been properly introduced. Hi, I am James Barnes, Stephanie's stepbrother. My friends call me Bucky, but you can call me James if you want. I like how it sounds in your mouth.”

“Tony Stark. Natasha's best friend. It is a pleasure to meet you. And if you like your name in my mouth…” Tony wiggles his eyebrows, but a screech from Nat shuts him up.

“I know it’s like 11 o'clock at night, but may I buy you some dinner?” Tony asks. “It’s the least I can do after today. And I can’t say for sure, but I may be able offer dessert as well.”

“My momma didn’t raise any fools,” James says with a grin, “so naturally, I’d have to say yes. Lead the way, good sir.”

Giving their thanks to Nat and Stephanie, James and Tony walk hand-in-hand towards a late-night diner.

“Told you they’d like each other.” Natasha takes Stephanie’s hand.

Staring after them, Steph snorts. “You know, only Bucky and Tony could fall in love in jail.”

_We fell in love in a hopeless place._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and positive comments make my day! :)


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